{"id":6779,"date":"2024-06-21T18:00:47","date_gmt":"2024-06-21T16:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/?p=6779"},"modified":"2024-06-21T18:00:47","modified_gmt":"2024-06-21T16:00:47","slug":"one-avocado-a-day-improves-diet-in-an-unexpected-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/2024\/06\/21\/one-avocado-a-day-improves-diet-in-an-unexpected-way\/","title":{"rendered":"One Avocado a Day Improves Diet in an Unexpected Way"},"content":{"rendered":"

Avocados are full of healthy fats, fibre, and important nutrients. It\u2019s a good idea to include avocados in your diet. But what if you ate one every day? A new study looked at how this singular change impacts your overall diet. It turns out that it\u2019s better than expected. Let\u2019s take a closer look at the study and how you can add more avocados to your diet too.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Avocados are full of important nutrients<\/strong><\/h2>\n

We wrote about past research on avocados<\/a>, which showed they help lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. But this new study suggests that the benefits of eating avocados may go far beyond that.<\/p>\n

\u201cAvocados are a nutrient-dense food, containing a lot of fibre and other important nutrients. We wanted to see if regular intake of this food would lead to an increase in diet quality. Previous observational research suggests avocado consumers have higher diet quality than non-consumers. So, we developed this study to determine if there is a causational link between avocado consumption and overall diet quality,\u201d said the study\u2019s lead author Kristina Petersen, PhD, from Penn State University.<\/p>\n

The study<\/a> included over 1,000 participants split into two groups. One group continued their usual diet without avocados. The other group was instructed to include one avocado per day into their diet.<\/p>\n

Researchers followed the participants for 26 weeks and conducted phone interviews to determine what they ate in the previous 24 hours. They also evaluated their diets using the Healthy Eating Index to see how well they adhered to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.<\/p>\n

\"Avocado\"<\/a>
Studies suggest that eating an avocado per day can substantially increase overall diet quality.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Avocados improved adherence to dietary guidelines<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cWe found that the participants who had an avocado per day significantly increased their adherence to dietary guidelines. This suggests that strategies, like eating one avocado per day, can help people follow dietary guidelines and improve the quality of their diets,\u201d Petersen said.<\/p>\n

This is important because poor diet quality is a significant risk factor for conditions like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, kidney disease, and other preventable diseases.<\/p>\n

Avocados crowded out unhealthier foods<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The improved diet was not a surprising outcome. Adding a healthy food such as an avocado is likely to produce suchresults. But after a closer inspection, the researchers found that the diet of the avocado group improved in other ways, too. The researchers saw the following improvements:<\/p>\n